Chapter 39
thirty-nine
. . .
Eden
Blinking, I slowly run my tongue over my lips.
What the hell?
Where am I?
I try to sit up, but my arm shakes, and I flop back down on the pillow. The room is spinning. I close my eyes to block out the sunlight and focus on not throwing up. My brain races as I try to piece together what happened. The last thing I remember clearly is eating dinner with Felix.
“You’re awake,” Felix says as he rounds the end of the bed and kneels in front of me with a smile on his face. “You had me really worried. I didn’t realize you drank so much last night, but you’ve been out for hours.”
“I…I…feel…shit,” I slur.
“Here, I brought something that will help.”
Felix holds up a glass of yellow liquid.
“Wa…what?”
“It’s just a sports drink. You need electrolytes and something bland to eat. I’ve got toast coming.”
His words make sense, but something doesn’t feel right. I’ve never been so drunk that I can’t remember a single thing. It’s terrifying losing time. It reminds me of the crash and being in and out of consciousness.
“Hey, it’s okay.”
Felix kisses my forehead and helps me sit up. I close my eyes again and breathe slowly to clear the brain fog. The drink seems to help. I take small sips, but Felix doesn’t let me stop until it’s gone.
“Can you sit up on your own?”
I nod.
“I’ll be right back with your toast.”
He leaves, and I try to remember anything after dessert. I have a vague memory of Felix carrying me, but that’s it—complete blank space. Panic claws at my throat for no apparent reason other than I hate the empty nothingness.
“Here you go,” Felix says, sitting beside me.
He tears the bread into tiny pieces and feeds them to me. I feel wiped within seconds, and my eyes start to close.
“Why don’t you sleep some more? When you wake up, I have a gift for you,” Felix says, setting the empty plate aside and helping me lie down. I grab his hand. “Do you want me to stay with you?”
I nod even as I start to drift back to sleep. He tucks me in before crawling in behind me and holding me tight to his body.
I sigh.
“Rest, Pretty Thing, I’ve got you,” he whispers in my ear.
When I wake up again, it’s dark, and Felix is missing. I’m able to sit up on my own without all my muscles shaking. The dim light from the hallway shows a fresh glass of the same lemony drink on the nightstand. I sip half of it before even attempting to stand.
Nothing spins, and my limbs seem to be in working order. I feel okay except for the throbbing behind my eyes. I swear, I’ll never drink that much ever again.
Being out of control isn’t a feeling I enjoy, but the accident and losing my parents have added a new level of panic.
But there’s no time for that now. First stop…bathroom.
“Eden? You okay in there?”
Felix…such a worrier. I’ve always been the worrywart. He makes me look like I’m laid back and chill.
I finish washing my hands and open the door. My heart goes haywire at the sight of him. He’s leaning casually against the wall, his white hair tousled and falling over his forehead. Bathed in shadows, his blue eyes glow in the light from the bathroom.
Vampire. I swear he’s a very sexy vampire.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
With a fiendishly sexy grin, he pushes off the wall to stand in front of me. Felix wraps his hands around my neck as his thumbs gently brush against my cheeks. My pulse thunders to a roar.
He kisses me, and any side effects from last night are wiped away, replaced by lust for this perfect man in front of me.
“Mmm…” He groans against my lips. “I want to eat you up.”
Definitely a vampire.
“You ready for your gift?”
I nibble my bottom lip, picturing him naked.
“Hmm…what?”
“Are you ready for your gift?”
“I thought you were my gift,” I say, and he chuckles.
“You’ll always have me, but this is a special gift.”
He winks and takes my hand, leading me out into the living room.
Felix stops, and I look around, confused. Everything seems the same. Nothing is jumping out at me. Then I do a double-take. There’s a fish tank on the table behind the couch.
I move closer and then screech like I’ve lost my mind.
“Oh my god, oh my god. You got me musk turtles. They are so cute,” I say, running over and then bouncing on the balls of my feet.
The joy is overwhelming.
Spinning around, I practically leap on Felix. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him hard.
“Thank you. Thank you so much. They’re incredible.”
He smiles wide.
“I’m happy you love them. You’ve suffered so much loss. I just thought you deserved something that will make you smile every day.”
Happy tears trail down my cheeks as he brushes a piece of hair behind my ear.
“I know this isn’t what you saw for your future, and I can't give back what you’ve lost...but I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make what’s left beautiful, Eden. I hope you know that.”
There are no words to describe what I’m feeling. I can’t speak, so I kiss him again as his hands slide down to my waist.
The kiss is fiery and all-consuming, just like Felix, and despite the desire coursing between us, I’m too excited about my gift to let it continue.
Pulling out of his arms, I clap and dash around to kneel on the couch so I can stare at my new little pets.
“What are you going to call them? The guy at the store says they are both girls.”
“Hmm…I need to think. This is an important decision.”
My cell rings from the bedroom.
“I’ll go grab it. Keep thinking of names. What about Van and Halen?” He laughs, backing out of the room.
“That’s not a bad idea. How about Halen and Jovi?”
“I like it,” Felix calls out as he disappears down the hall.
He comes back, holding the phone out.
“It’s Kris.”
I answer the phone, excited to tell her all about my gift.
“Kris, oh my god, you’ll never guess what Felix got me,” I say, waiting only a second before answering the question myself. “Turtles. Eek!”
“Eden?”
“They are two of the most adorable turtles I’ve ever seen. I think I’m going to call them band names. What do you think?”
“Eden?”
“Oh, I can do Queen. That will have to be for the bossy one.”
“Eden!”
I stop talking, my mind screeching to a halt at the tone of Kris’s voice.
“What? What is it?”
She sniffs, and it’s only then that I realize she is crying.
“Kris, what’s wrong?”
“It’s Kyle…he’s…he’s dead.”
I’m frozen, unable to move or breathe. This doesn’t make sense.
“What?”
“Dead…he was murdered,” she says and then begins to bawl. The words slowly sink in, and I sag into the couch.
“What’s going on,” Felix asks, the smile falling from his face as I lock eyes with him.
I shake my head.
“Kyle’s dead.”
The joy from a moment ago is gone, wiped away as I crumble. I can hear Kris crying and feel Felix holding me.
Why?
Why does this keep happening?
Every breath feels like I’m swallowing broken glass. The pain is just another stab in the never-ending attack on my heart. I’m left utterly lost in a universe that has taken my parents, my home, and now Kyle.
What have I done to make this world hate me so much?
Who have I pissed off?
What the fuck have I done?